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Apple today released WatchOS 26.2.1 to support compatibility with its new system AirTag 2nd generation Tracking. While I appreciate the expanded range and louder speaker in the new AirTags, the most interesting feature to me is Precision Finding’s support for many features Apple watch Models.
In the Watch app on your device iPhoneGo to Settings > General > Software Update To get the latest version. You can also open the Settings app on the watch itself and go to General > Software update. Remember that the watch must be on its charger for the update to complete.
Watch this: Apple Watch Series 11 review: Is it worth the upgrade?
Precision searching is what enables your iPhone 15 and later to locate AirTags (1st and 2nd generation) by directing you to them. For the first time, Precision Search is available on Apple Watch Series 9 and later and Ultra 2 and later. For example, I can follow the on-screen arrow and the approximate distance on my device iPhone 17 Pro Only to discover that my keys had fallen into the couch cushions and were no longer in my car.
Since I always have my watch on my wrist, it’s the most convenient way to search for things like this. So being able to use Precision to search without having to hold my phone would be more useful and convenient. (It’s embarrassing that I have to use my watch to locate my iPhone to use the precision to locate the AirTag.)
Previously, the Apple Watch supported locating AirTags using the Find Items app, but until now it was limited to playing a sound or getting directions via the Maps app.
Making AirTags make noises at the top of their little metal lungs is probably how most people define them, and the louder speaker on the second-generation AirTags will no doubt help. But I’m not a bat – why should I rely on an undeveloped sense of echolocation to locate items using some of the best technology available today?
The mapping integration is great for letting me see that I didn’t leave my bag at the café. But showing it’s 0 miles away doesn’t tell me where I absentmindedly placed it in the house. And with the new update and the latest model of AirTag, my watch will lead me right there.
All of this is possible because the new AirTag models include the second-generation Ultra Wideband (UWB) chip, the same chip found in iPhone 15 and later (but not iPhone 16E), Apple Watch Series 9 and later, and Ultra 2 and later. This enables more accurate positioning between devices. Precision Finding also works on iPhone models dating back to the iPhone 11, which introduced the first UWB chips.
It appears that retailers are yet to stock the second-generation AirTags, but I expect them to appear soon. And the first generation is still not only useful, but also Often for sale.